Machine for making carrying bags having u-shaped carrying handles

ABSTRACT

The machine serves to make carrying bags consisting of paper or plastics material and having carrying handles, which are formed by strips folded into U-shape and adhered to the sidewalls of the bags. Each of the continuously rotating working cylinders used to fold and adhere the carrying handles is preceded by a strip transfer device for transferring the handle blanks which have been supplied in a direction which is parallel to axis of the working cylinder. The strip transfer devices each comprise a rotary transfer tool having a plurality of strip-receiving stations, which have a regular angular spacing. The tool is arranged to be driven by drive means comprising a Maltese cross movement having slots equal in number to the strip-receiving stations and comprising a cam carrying a striker pin for each slot. The striker pins have a regular angular spacing. The Maltese cross movement is driven at such a speed that the maximum velocity of the transfer tool corresponds to the maximum velocity of the working cylinder.

United States Patent Herbert Kurt Reissner. Lengerich; Friedhelm Brinkmeier, of Ladbergen,

[72] Inventors [54} MACHINE FOR MAKING CARRYING BAGS HAVING U-SHAPED CARRYING HANDLES 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 93/8, 93/35, 93/36, 93/58 [51] lnt.Cl B3lb l/86,' 1331b l/l4, 1331b 1/62 [50] Field of Search 93/8 WA 35 use A,58 (.6)

2,952,396 9/1960 Steen 93/35 (H) 3,034,409 5/1962 Finke 93/8 (WA) 3,334,550 8/1967 Craig 93/8 (WA) 3,439,591 4/1969 Class 93/35 (H) 3,464,325 9/1969 Class 93/35 (H) 3,494,264 2/1970 Class 93/35 (H) FOREIGN PATENTS 1,181,035 11/1964 Germany 93/35 (H) Primary Examiner-Wayne A. Morse, Jr. Attorney-Fliet, Gipple and Jacobson ABSTRACT: The machine serves to make carrying bags consisting of paper or plastics material and having carrying handles, which are formed by strips folded into U-shape and ad hered t0 the sidewalls of the bags. Each of the continuously rotating working cylinders used to fold and adhere the carrying handles is preceded by a strip transfer device for transferring the handle blanks which have been supplied in a direction which is parallel to axis of the working cylinder. The strip transfer devices each comprise a rotary transfer tool having a' plurality of strip-receiving stations, which have a regular angular spacing. The tool is arranged to be driven by drive means comprising a Maltese cross movement having slots equal in number to the strip-receiving stations and comprising a cam carrying a striker pin for each slot. The striker pins have a regular angular spacing. The Maltese cross movement is driven at such a speed that the maximum velocity of the transfer tool corresponds to the maximum velocity of the working cylinder.

PATENTED JUL 6197i 3,590,696

sum 1 OF 3 INVENTORS Herbert REISSNER Friedhelm BRINKMEIER ammm w their- ATTORNEYS PATENTEDJUL-6|9?l 3,590,698?

SHEET 2 BF 3 v INVENTORS Herbert REISSNER Friedhelm BRINKMEIER their ATTORNEYS PATENIED JUL 6 ISYl SHEET 3 OF 3 INVE NTORS Herbert REISSNER Friedhelm BRINKMEIER their ATTORNEYS MACHINE FOR MAKING CARRYING BAGS HAVING U- SIIAPED CARRYING HANDLES This invention relates to a machine for making carrying bags consisting of paper or plastic material and having carrying handles, which are formed by strips folded into U-shape and adhered to the sidewalls of the bags. In the machine each of the eontinuously rotating working cylinders used to fold and adhere the carrying handles is preceded by a strip transfer device for transferring the handle blanks which have been supplied in a direction which is parallel to the axis of the working cylinder.

The US. Pat. No. 3,034,409 assigned to the same assignee as the present invention discloses a machine which serves to manufacture carrying bags and to apply carrying handles thereto, in which machine the striplike blanks for the carrying handles are also supplied to the working cylinder in a direction which is parallel to the axis of the latter. By an arresting member which is movable up and down, the carrying handle blank is arrested in a certain position so that the transfer device can receive the arrested strip and can deliver it to the rotating cylinder. In such apparatus, the arrested strip is pierced by, e.g,, three needles, which are secured to levers which are pivotally movable substantially at right angles to the plane of the strip. The pivotal movement of the levers imparting the piercing and subsequent withdrawal movements to the needles into and out of the strip is controlled by a cam wheel, a follower roller and another lever. Said two levers are pivoted in third levers, to which two additional levers are connected, which are controlled by a cam and impart an oscillating pivotal movement under the control of a cam to said third levers so-t'hat the same during their forward stroke toward the cylinder transfer the strip to the cylinder, where the strip is gripped by grippers of the cylinder. This apparatus is cyclically driven and is synchronized with the revolution of the cylinder.

The apparatus which has been previously described operates satisfactorily at low and intermediate speeds of opetation whereas the higher machine outputs which an enabled by technical development result in disturbances in this apparatus. The speed of operation of the apparatus is limited by the fact that each cycle comprises an idle stroke to return the needle and this idle stroke must be performed within the shortest time possible. Besides, the oscillating pivotal movement of the considerable masses to be accelerated and retarded result in the occurrence of considerable forces in the machine which are due to inertia and may result in deleterious vibration and possibly in damage to the machine parts and in any case in a rapid wear.

It is an object of the invention to avoid in a simple manner the described disadvantages of the known strip transfer device and to provide a device which enables a high machine output involving neither wear nor vibration while operating to cause the carrying handle blanks to be received by the transfer device while the blanks are arrested whereas the latter are accelerated to the peripheral velocity of the working cylinder later in the cycle so that the strip can be delivered to the working cylinder without difficulty.

In a machine of the kind previously described, which serves to make carrying bags, this objects is accomplished in that the strip transfer devices each comprise a rotary transfer tool having a plurality of strip-receiving stations, which have a regular angular spacing. The tool is arranged to be driven by drive means comprising a Maltese cross movement having slots equal in number to the strip-receiving stations and comprising a cam carrying a striker pin for each slot, said striker pins having a regular angular spacing and the Maltese cross movement being driven at such a speed that the maximum velocity of the transfer tool corresponds to the peripheral velocity of the working cylinder. In the design according to the invention, the transfer tool performs in each cycle only the working stroke which is required and there is no longer a need for an idle stroke. In addition, the oscillating motion of the know transfer tool is replaced by a rotation in one and the same sense. To

enable the needles to pierce the strip when the same is arrested, the receiving stations are preferably provided with such needles and are arrested at the beginning of the cycle and are accelerated to the velocity of the working cylinder later in the working cycle. For this purpose, the known characteristic of a Maltese cross movement is utilized, in which the angular velocity during each step varies like a sine curve from zero to a maximum and back to zero. The Maltese cross attains its maximum angular velocity exactly after one-half step. Because there are like numbers of striker pins, slots, and receiving stations for the strip blanks one striker pin leaves the associated slot of the Maltese cross exactly when the next striker pin enters the associated slot of the Maltese cross so that the latter is ,only momentarily arrested and the next cycle follows in close succession. This is the difference between the design according to the invention and the conventional Maltese cross movements, in which there are prolonged standstill periods when the cam provided with only one striker pin completes its revolution between successive steps. A cam provided with four striker pins may cooperate with a Maltese cross having slots in the form of four radially extending grooves. Simple manufacture is enabled in that the grooves cross each other. It will also be desirable if the striker pins carry rollers, which engage the slots of the Maltese cross.

According to the invention the receiving stations may be provided with needles for piercing the carrying handle blanks. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the transfer tool comprises two spiders which are spaced apart and mounted on the Maltese cross-shaft for rotation therewith. The needles are carried by shafts, which are parallel to the Maltese cross-shaft and rotatably mounted at the spider arm ends and provided each at one end with a crank, which is guided in a cam groove, which causes the needles to perform a piercing movement in the receiving zone and a withdrawal movement in the delivery zone and which is movable in step with the machine cycle. The cam groove must be movable because the needles are arrested for a short time in the receiving zone and a piercing movement could not be initiated by a stationary cam. The cooperation of the cyclically moved cam groove and of the cranks can impart the required movement to the needles while the transfer tool is arrested. For this purpose a disc which is formed with the cam groove on one end face may be pivotally movable about the axis of the transfer tool by means ofa link, which is eccentrically pivoted to the disc and which is pivoted atits other end on an eccentric, which is secured to a shaft which rotates in step with the machine cycle, e.g. to the shaft carrying the cutters for scoring the strip. During the operation of the machine,

the eccentric performs one revolution during each cycle so that the cam groove performs a pivotal movement during each cycle. This pivotal movement is so matched to the cycle of the machine that the cam groove moves at its highest velocity in a sense of rotation which is opposite to that of the Maltese cross shaft when the needles are arrested in the receiving zone so that the needles perform their piercing movement under the control of the cam. When the needles are accelerated as the operation continues, the pivotal movement of the cam is retarded to a standstill and the cam is then reversed. During he movement of the cam in the new direction, a maximum velocity will be attained at a predetermined point. In this region, the needles also attain their maximum velocity, at which they are withdrawn from the strip. Although the needles and the cam groove rotate in the same sense in this range, the high differential velocity between the needles and the cam groove ensures that the withdrawal movement will be exactly controlled. The strip which has been transferred to the working cylinder is then moved through a scoring station and is subsequently shaped to form a carrying handle in a folding station. The finished carrying handle has glue applied to it in normal manner and is applied to the web or a bag. The use of the invention avoids the disadvantages of the known strip transfer device to a large extent. Specifically, the transfer elements do not perform a reciprocating motion, which could involve the above-mentioned disadvantages. A machine provided with the device according to the invention has a much higher output than a machine provided with the conventional device and is optimally free of trouble.

The invention will be explained more in detail in the sub sequent description with reference to the drawing, in which an embodiment is shown diagrammatically and by way of exam ple.

In the drawing,

FIG. 1 is a side elevation showing the transfer device according to the invention in a first operating position,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line Il-II of FIG. I, and

FIG.3 is a side elevation similar to that of FIG. 1 and showing the device according to the invention in a second operat ing position.

The carrying handle-applying station of a machine for making carrying bags is provided with two similar devices according to the invention. Each of the devices serves to move one of the two carrying handles required for a carrying bag to a respective working cylinder. Only one of the two devices will be explained hereinafter.

The strip-shaped carrying handle blank 1 shown in section in FIG. 1 is moved at right angles to the plane of FIG. 1 to the folding cylinder 2 and by a clamping device, not shown, is arrested in a predetermined position. The arrested strip 1 is now pierced by, e.g., two needles 3 and 4 (see also FIG. 2), which are mounted on the periphery ofa needle carrier 5. The needle carrier 5 carries four pairs of needles and comprises two spaced-apart four-arm spiders 6 and 7, which are firmly connected by a common hub 8 to a shaft 11, which is rotatably mounted in the side frames 9 and I0 of the machine. Shafts 14 are rotatably mounted in the ends of respective pairs of opposite levers l2 and 13. Each shaft 14 carries two levers 15 and 16, which are provided with the needles 3 and 4, respectively. Another lever 17 is secured to the end of each of shafts l4 and at its end carries two rollers 18 and 19, which roll on a cam 20 for controlling the piercing and withdrawal movement of the needles 3 and 4. The feed movement is imparted to the needles 3 and 4 by a Maltese cross 21, which forms part of a Maltese cross movement and is secured to one end of the shaft 11 carrying the needle-carrying cylinder 5. The Maltese cross 21 has the form of a cross, which has four arms and is formed on its end face with corresponding grooves 22, which receive the corresponding striker pins 23-26 in accordance with the position of the Maltese cross. The pins 23-26 are provided with rollers and are mounted on the end face of the cam 27, which consists of a gear and is rotatably mounted on a pin 28, which is secured to the side frame 9 of the machine. Motion is transmitted to the cam 27 from the cyclical main drive means of the machine by means of a multiple gear 31 consisting of gears 29 and 30. The gear 29 is in mesh with the cam 27 and the gear 30 is in mesh with a gear (not shown) of the main drive means. The multiple gear 31 is secured to a shaft 32, which is rotatably mounted in the side frames 9 and 10 of the machine and which carries the scoring knives 33 and 34'. ofthe strip-scoring station 35 cooperating with the folding cylinder The strip 1 which has been arrested in the receiving zone 36 (FIG. 1) is received by the needles 3 and 4 carried on the periphery of the needle carrier 5. The strip 1 can be received only when the Maltese cross 21 and the needles 3 and 4 are momentarily arrested. To accomplish this momentary arrest, the cam 27 is adjusted so that one striker pin, e.g., 26, is disengaged and the succeeding striker pin, e.g., 23, just begins to engage the Maltese cross when the needles 3 and 4 are in the receiving zone 36. The rotation of the Maltese cross 21 is interrupted exactly in that position of the cam 27 because at that time the striker pins 23 and 26 move parallel to the longitu dinal direction of the corresponding grooves 22. When the Maltese cross 21 is thus arrested, a stationary cam could not initiate a piercing movement. For this reason, the cam 20 which controls the piercing and withdrawal movements is pivoted on a hub 37, which is secured to the side frame 9 (FIG. 2) of the machine. The arrangement of the hub 37 is such that the axis of rotation of the cam 20 coincides with the axis of rotation of the shaft 11. The cam 20 consists of a milled groove on the end face of a cylindrical disc 38. A pivotal movement is imparted to the cam 20 (FIGS. land 2) by an eccentric 39, which is secured to the shaft 32 and to which one end of a link 40 is pivoted. The other end of the link 40 is pivoted to the disc 38. A rotation of the eccentric 39 imparts a reciprocating motion to the link 40 so that the cam 20 performs a pivotal movement. The pivotal movement of the cam 20 is so matched to the cycle of the machine that the cam is just moving at its maximum velocity in a sense which is opposite to the sense of rotation 41 of the shaft 11 when the latter is arrested (FIG. 1) This operation causes an instantaneous piercing movement of the needles 3 and 4 under the control of the cam 20. As the rotation of the shaft 11 is resumed, the strip 1 held by the needles is accelerated in the direction of rotation 41 until it reaches the velocity of the folding cylinder 2 in the delivery zone 42 (FIG. 3). The strip 1 is now removed from the needles 3 and 4 by a gripper 43, which is carried by the folding cylinder 2, and the needles 3 and 4 perform a withdrawal movement at the same time under the control of the pivoted cam 20, which has been reversed and is now moving in the same sense as the Maltese cross 21. The rollers 18 and 19 rolling on the cam 20 have a much higher velocity than the cam 20 so that the differential velocity required to drive the needles is obtained. As the strip continues to advance, it is held on the folding cylinder and in the scoring station 35 (FIG. 1 and 3) is provided with score lines at 45 for the subsequent folding operation and is then supplied to a folding station. 44, in which the lateral end portions 45 and 46 of the strip 1 are folded out of the outside peripheral surface of the working cylinder (FIG. 1) and to the rear opposite to the direction of travel 47. In this way, carrying handles having the known U- shape are formed. The carrying handle 48 (FIG. 3) which has thus been completed has glue applied to it and is applied to a web of bag material or to a finished bag. These operations are not illustrated. When the pair of needles 3 and 4 have moved through the delivery zone 42, they are delayed to a standstill. When the needles 3 and 4 reach. a standstill position, another pair of needles are disposed in the receiving zone so that the described operation is repeated with a new carrying handle blank.

We claim:

1. In a machine for making carrying bags having carrying handles which are formed by strips folded into a U-shape and adhered to the sidewalls of the bags, said machine comprising continuously rotating working cylinders to fold and adhere the carrying handles with each of said continuously rotating working cylinders being preceded by a strip transfer device for transferring handle blanks which have been supplied in a direction parallel to the axis of the working cylinder, the striptransfer device comprising a rotary transfer tool having a plurality of strip-receiving stations arranged at a regular angular spacing, said rotary transfer tool being arranged to be driven by drive means, said drive means comprising a Maltese cross drive having slots equal in number to said strip-receiving stations and a driver carrying a drive pin for each slot, said slots comprising two grooves formed on one end face of said Maltese cross drive and crossing at right angles, said drive pins having a regular angular spacing corresponding to that of said slots and said strip-receiving stations, said Maltese cross drive being adapted to be driven at such a speed that the maximum velocity of said transfer tool corresponds to the peripheral veloc'ity of said working cylinder with the transfer tool being arrested during receipt ofa strip.

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said drive pins carry rollers engageable with said slots.

3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the strip-receiving stations are provided with needles for piercing the carrying handle blanks.

4. A machine according to claim 3, wherein the transfer tool comprises two spiders, which are spaced apart and mounted on a Maltese cross shaft for rotation therewith, said needles 5. A machine according to claim 4, wherein the cam groove is formed on one end face of a disc which is pivotally movable by a link, said link having one end eccentrically pivoted to the disc and its other end pivoted to an eccentric which is secured to a shaft which rotates in step with the machine cycle. 

1. In a machine for making carrying bags having carrying handles which are formed by strips folded into a U-shape and adhered to the sidewalls of the bags, said machine comprising continuously rotating working cylinders to fold and adhere the carrying handles with each of said continuously rotating working cylinders being preceded by a strip transfer device for transferring handle blanks which have been supplied in a direction parallel to the axis of the working cylinder, the strip-transfer device comprising a rotary transfer tool having a plurality of stripreceiving stations arranged at a regular angular spacing, said rotary transfer tool being arranged to be driven by drive means, said drive means comprising a Maltese cross drive having slots equal in number to said strip-receiving stations and a driver carrying a drive pin for each slot, said slots comprising two grooves formed on one end face of said Maltese cross drive and crossing at right angles, said drive pins having a regular angular spacing corresponding to that of said slots and said strip-receiving stations, said Maltese cross drive being adapted to be driven at such a speed that the maximum velocity of said transfer tool corresponds to the peripheral velocity of said working cylinder with the transfer tool being arrested during receipt of a strip.
 2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein said drive pins carry rollers engageable with said slots.
 3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the strip-receiving stations are provided with needles for piercing the carrying handle blanks.
 4. A machine according to claim 3, wherein the transfer tool comprises two spiders, which are spaced apart and mounted on a Maltese cross shaft for rotation therewith, said needles being carried by shafts which are parallel to the Maltese cross-shaft and rotatably mounted at the spider arm ends, each shaft being provided at one end with a crank which is guided in a cam groove which causes the needles to perform a piercing movement in the receiving zone and a withdrawal movement in the delivery zone and which is movable in step with the machine cycle.
 5. A machine according to claim 4, wherein the cam groove is formed on one end face of a disc which is pivotally movable by a link, said link having one end eccentrically pivoted to the disc and its other end pivoted to an eccentric which is secured to a shaft which rotates in step with the machine cycle. 